Kuala Lumpur gets (generous assumption) about 100 lightning strikes per square kilometer per year [0].
If a single drone could service a lot of square km, then it could conceivably collect a lot of electricity. E.g. if it could service 20 square km: 20 * 100 * 8mWh = 16gWh per year. Not bad, but an upper bound, and it hinges a lot on that first parameter (service area).
True that an offshore wind turbine can produce 15MW. But it can cost $100m+ just for 1 turbine (built and installed). If drones are going up anyway (to protect a city/citizens from strikes), then electricity generation is effectively free, and the marginal cost is equal to the hardware required to capture it (maybe relatively low).
Kuala Lumpur gets (generous assumption) about 100 lightning strikes per square kilometer per year [0].
If a single drone could service a lot of square km, then it could conceivably collect a lot of electricity. E.g. if it could service 20 square km: 20 * 100 * 8mWh = 16gWh per year. Not bad, but an upper bound, and it hinges a lot on that first parameter (service area).
[0] https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/5376210/all
You need ~4 strikes per hour to keep up with a single large offshore wind turbine (15MW at 40% capacity factor).
That would mean 350km² just to match a single wind turbine (at 100% capture efficiency for 5GJ lightning strikes).
This is not ever gonna make economical sense.
True that an offshore wind turbine can produce 15MW. But it can cost $100m+ just for 1 turbine (built and installed). If drones are going up anyway (to protect a city/citizens from strikes), then electricity generation is effectively free, and the marginal cost is equal to the hardware required to capture it (maybe relatively low).
3 replies →
I thought it was muuuuuch more than that! I've learned something otday!